Drakenstein water rules lowered

RESIDENTS in the Drakenstein municipality will breathe a sigh of relief from December 1, as the municipality will lower water restriction from Level 5 to Level 3.

Level 3 water restrictions and accompanying reduced tariffs will allow residents 120 litres of municipal drinking water per person per day.

Paarl and Wellington draw most of their water from the Wemmershoek Dam, which Drakenstein Municipality shares with the City of Cape Town (Drakenstein uses 7% and Cape Town 93%).

Gouda and Hermon draw mainly from the Voëlvlei Dam, and Saron from springs in the area.

“Thanks to fairly stable Western Cape dam levels that are higher when compared with the same time last year, Drakenstein Municipality decided to lower our water restrictions to Level 3,” said Drakenstein Municipality mayor Conrad Poole.

“However, we know we’ve entered our drier season now and we can no longer rely on good rainfall to fill our dams. So, this is basically the amount of water that we have at our disposal to sustain Drakenstein and our visitors until the end of summer. That is why we have to look after it carefully and keep on using water responsibly,” he cautioned.

From December 1, Drakenstein residents will be able to top up or fill up their swimming pools, provided that the pool is fitted with a non-permeable, solid cover.

No automatic pool top-up systems will be allowed, and the use of portable or any temporary play pools will be prohibited.

Residents will also be allowed to water or irrigate their gardens, lawns, flowerbeds and vegetable gardens, sport fields, parks and other open spaces with potable water from the municipal supply, provided that they use a bucket or watering container and do so before 10am and after 4pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

No automatic sprinkler systems will be allowed.

For the full Level 3 water restriction details, visit www.drakenstein.gov.za/ savewater